NASA’s rover may have discovered the ‘signature of life’ on Mars in the form of carbon-12. But much more research is needed before we can be sure.
Curiosity analyzed rock samples with its onboard chemical laboratory. The results indicate the presence of a certain type of carbon, carbon-12, usually associated with biological processes.
“What we have found is fascinating, but we need more evidence to confirm that we have found proof of life,” explains Paul Mahaffy, in charge of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
“We are trying to determine what other causes could be at the origin of this carbon signature, if not life,” he continues.
These rock samples containing carbon-12 were collected from five different locations in Gale Crater between 2012 and 2021.
“On Earth, living organisms use carbon-12 for their metabolic processes, so the presence of this isotope in ancient rock samples is generally interpreted on earth as a signal of biotic chemistry. But the carbon cycles on Mars are not well enough understood to make similar assumptions,” explain NASA scientists in a study published January 18 in the prestigious journal “Reports of the US National Academy of Sciences. United of America”.
In their study, the researchers set out three hypotheses that could explain the presence of this carbon-12. Only one of them implies that there was life on the red planet. One in three chance: this is a rather encouraging probability.
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